Accy 420 Section 6, Independent Study (Alternative Thesis Track; Professional Development and Research for Accountancy Honors Students)
ACCY 420 is a two-course sequence which serves as an alternative to the traditional honors thesis for accountancy majors. The class will be an evening class meeting one day per week (3 credit hours for each semester) that will meet throughout the fall and spring semesters of the junior year. Case Studies: Every other week, the students will work through a research case that utilizes the professional literature. The topics will begin with what students are concurrently learning in the Intermediate Accounting series, but will expand beyond the mechanics and disclosure requirements to cover the gray areas that require professional judgment. They will alternatively play the roles of management and the auditor/tax professional to utilize either the Codification or the IRS Code to solve and prepare a written brief on each week’s case. The cases studies will take place throughout the year. Professional Speakers: In the alternative weeks throughout the year, representatives from the accounting profession will speak to the class. The topics will be regarding current topics in the profession. We encourage the professionals to engage the students in active discussion. Case Competitions: This part of the course will be focused on developing presentation and communication skills through preparation and participation in case competitions. Each fall, Patterson School of Accountancy hosts two professional case competitions, in which the student will participate: 1) PwC Challenge and 2) KPMG International Case Competition. Final Thesis Document: The final thesis work will include the many case briefs worked on over the course of the year in addition to the case competition materials.
AH 201 Section 3, History of Art I
In this course students will interpret representative examples of prehistoric, ancient, and medieval art of Western and selected world cultures using specific artistic vocabulary. They will investigate various art styles in view of historical, political, and religious contexts. In addition, they will examine the roles of artists, patrons, and audiences, and will identify the processes by which artists produce their work. This Honors College section differs from large lecture-focused sections of the course by requiring students to incorporate readings of primary documents as they interpret art works within chronological and geographical contexts. Classes will consist of a blend of illustrated lectures, discussion, and group and individual presentations. Assessment in the large, regular section of AH 201 is by multiple-choice tests. However, in this low-enrollment Honors section, students will demonstrate critical thinking while evaluating various perspectives on art in several brief oral and written assignments. Rote memorization of works of art is not the goal of this course, yet potential art or art history majors must be prepared for departmental assessment tests on fundamentals of art history, so students are required to identify primary monuments of the history of art.
AH 202 Section 2, History of Art II: Renaissance to Contemporary Art
The objective of this course is to familiarize students with the major stylistic, thematic, and historical trends in art history from the Renaissance through today, worldwide. This course is designed to encourage a critical understanding of the meaning and function of art objects, architecture, and design artifacts within their original historical contexts. Class sessions consist of lecture and group discussion. Students will explore the University museum’s collection and compare and contrast artworks of the same or different cultures using the skills of formal analysis. Students will read and discuss scholarly articles tied to the examined time period. The Honors section of Art History 202 will aim to develop oral presentation skills throughout the semester, as well as writing essays related to artworks belonging to different cultures and time periods.
Bisc 104 Section 4, Inquiry into Life–The Environment
Bisc 104 is a course designed for non-biology majors in which we explore the diversity of life and the natural world that supports life. The intent is for students to better understand the basic principles of evolution and ecology and to have a growing familiarity with the diversity of life on earth. Topics include the evolution and taxonomy of life on Earth, the ecology of microbial, plant and animal life, and contemporary environmental issues. As a Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College section, the class size is small and allows for extensive student participation and engagement compared to a large lecture format. Upon successful completion of Bisc 104, students will be able to explain the basis for and origin of the diversity of life on earth; describe the variety of evidence that supports the scientific theory of evolution; convey the history of life on earth and the chronology of evolution of different groups of life; identify and relate physical commonalities among various organisms, including humans; assess the complexities and consequences of population growth; and critically evaluate the role of humans in environmental issues. A passing grade in Bisc 102 is a prerequisite for this course. The associated laboratory is Bisc 105, which may or may not be taken concurrently with the lecture.
Bisc 336 Section 14, Genetics
This course is designed to provide an overview of genetics for Biology majors and students planning careers in STEM fields. The small class size of the Honors section will facilitate informal discussion of key advances in genetic research, the emerging approach of precision medicine and controversial bioethical issues. Students are expected to become familiar with the form and function of DNA, RNA, and proteins, as well as modes of inheritance, change, and genetic variability. In addition to individual presentations during the semester, students will work in small groups to investigate the function of a gene of their choice and present their findings to their peers.
Econ 202 Section 4, Principles of Microeconomics
This is a course in introductory microeconomics – the study of how individuals make decisions and the consequences of those decisions. Because it helps us understand how individuals (such as consumers, firms, and governments) behave, microeconomic theory is extremely useful for analyzing questions of interest to a broad variety of fields, including public policy, business administration, and the social sciences. By the end of this course, you should: 1) understand the core concepts of microeconomic analysis; 2) be able to apply these principles in order to analyze questions of substantive interest to the fields listed above; and 3) be able to use the logic and language of microeconomics in order to effectively communicate the conclusions of your analyses to technical and non-technical audiences alike. Three characteristics differentiate this section of the course from its non-honors counterparts. First, we will treat the material at a more abstract level, highlighting the widespread applicability of economic to many questions. Second, we will approach the material with a greater degree of mathematical rigor. Third, an accelerated pace will allow us to discuss interesting topics and applications that are usually not covered in introductory courses.
Econ 203 Section 1, Principles of Macroeconomics
The main objective of this course is to introduce the world of macroeconomics, the study of the economy at the national and the international levels. We will begin with learning basic concepts such as gross domestic product, inflation, and unemployment rates to measure the economy. We will explore how those macroeconomic variables are related and how they are affected by the external shocks such as technological innovation and globalization by using simple mathematical tools. We also study the roles of fiscal and monetary policies to stabilize the effect of the external shocks in the short-run and long-run. The Honors section of this course will offer an opportunity of policy-evaluating project in which groups of students can write a short country-specific report and present it in the class. This project can help the students know how to collect the economic data and to provide useful information by analyzing it with simple tools. Also, students are strongly encouraged to ask questions and participate constructively in class discussions which will lead us to study our topics in depth.
Eng 223 Section 1, Survey of American Literature to the Civil War
The history of English-speaking people in the New World has been a history of storytellers. Living in a newly colonized hemisphere produced a wide variety of new literary forms, templates which still define American culture to this day. English adventurers, Puritan settlers on the Massachusetts frontier, New England preachers, French expatriates, and eighteenth-century printer’s apprentices all created new kinds of texts examining new notions of American identity and society. We will read, examine, discuss, and write about the colonial accounts, Native American captivity narratives, Jeremiads, devotional poetry, sermons, autobiographies, and short stories that they produced, re-evaluating the expressive texts of our shared American pasts and presents. This course aims to be a more discussion-based, writing-intensive, creative, and rigorous alternative to the super-sized American literature lectures.
Eng 224 Section 1, Survey of American Literature Since the Civil War
This course is a survey of American Literature from 1865 to the present. We will read poetry, fiction, and nonfiction written by Americans of diverse backgrounds, and examine the ways in which those writers respond to literary, social, and political circumstances in the shifting cultural landscape of the United States over the past 150 years.
Eng 225 Section 27, Survey of British Lit to 18th Century
This course provides a historical survey of English literature, from the Middle Ages to the late eighteenth century. We will examine the relationship between literature and society, focusing particularly on satire and parody, and more generally on the role writing plays in upholding and challenging dominant values and institutions. Satire—literature that uses humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize immorality or foolishness—comes in many forms. By its very definition, so does parody: the comic imitation of a style, genre, or author. In our survey of 300 years of writing, we will examine poetry, drama, narrative fiction, and essays as well as a variety of literary modes, including romance, epic, and comedy. Only this course never plays it straight. We will study the funniest, angriest, most outraged and most outrageous authors in the English literary canon: men and women who have exposed religious hypocrisy, political corruption, and social injustice; those who fought social change, and those who zealously defended the status quo. Our aim is to better understand literature and the part it has played in historical struggles.
Fr 303 Section 1, Conversation and Composition I
French 303 is a conversation and composition class. Each unit is developed around a contemporary subject that stimulates students’ interest. During the semester, students watch three short-movies, one movie, read and discuss articles, essays, and comic stripes. In French 303, students review grammar and vocabulary and learn new vocabulary and grammar topics. Students write compositions, and one movie critique. There are several projects done in groups, such as oral presentations, sketches, role-play, cooperative writing and movie making. The honors section of French 303 covers the same curriculum as the regular section. It’s just tweaked and aimed at higher achieving students equating to a more challenging experience. In the honors section of French 303, the usage of English is forbidden, and the teacher covers the material at a faster pace, so she can include additional higher Depth of Knowledge (DOK) problems, problem-based activities, and critical thinking lessons.
Hon 350 Section 1, Intro to American Law and Reasoning
This course is intended to provide a broad introduction to American law and legal reasoning. The goals of the course are twofold. First, the student will gain an understanding of the role of law and legal institutions in American society. Second, the student will gain experience in legal reasoning by using primary source materials – e.g., court cases, statutes, etc. – to understand how actual lawyers and judges make and use law. Junior standing and a 3.60 GPA required to take this course.
Hon 445 Section 1, Art and the Republic
The objective of this class is to study various forms of the arts, i.e. dance. film, literature (including novels and poetry), music (all genres), sculpture and monuments, political cartoons, comedy and humor, and theater to explore and analyze how these forms of human expression and creativity are affected and influenced by our societies and cultures, and how, in turn, these arts and their creators, influence and affect us as individuals and citizens. This is a course that also engages students on current issues and how they relate to the arts. If you are uncomfortable regularly reading a wide variety of newspapers, grappling with complex societal, social and political issues of the day, and hearing multiple points of views on issues with which you may or may not agree, then this is not a course you should take. If you want to learn to see things from a broad perspective, open your mind to a large world view, learn how to better engage people with whom you might not share the same values, and effectively prepare yourself to understand the creative spirit that affects and drives not only the arts, but every field, then please sign up!
Hon 550 Section 3, Honors Advanced Study in Law I (Honors College version of Law 580, Intellectual Property)
In our shrinking world full of new technologies, intellectual property (“IP”) has become an important field of law for all businesses, big and small—and most individuals as well—to understand. This is a survey course that will provide an overview of the four topics that comprise the heart of IP law: trade secret, trademark, patent, and copyright. This course will provide you with the foundation to recognize situations where IP is involved and to properly analyze the implications of such situations. This course will focus both on established legal precedent as well as the practical impact of this precedent on economy, society, and culture, both at home and abroad. Course assignments will be composed of a mixture of cases, law review articles, and readings drawn from current events. In addition, written exercises will occasionally be given to illustrate how the knowledge learned from the readings, lectures, and class discussions might be applied in legal practice.
Hst 160 Section 1, Intro to Latin American History
This course surveys the history of Latin America from 1492 to the present. We will not attempt to examine in depth the history of all nineteen nations in the region. Instead, our course will focus on countries whose developments are representative of larger political, economic, social, and cultural trends in a given time period. Over the term, we will examine the fascinating pre-contact origins and subsequent interactions of Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans. Simultaneously we will witness the changes taking place in the Iberian Empires they came to inhabit as these lands evolved from the proving grounds of explorers and adventurers into a mature colonial society and eventually into a multitude of autonomous and culturally-distinct polities. After studying how these countries gained their independence, we will trace how nation building and social organization occurred through phenomena such as export-driven economies, dictatorships, revolutions, industrialization, foreign intervention, and globalization. The Honors College section of this course will consist of general class discussion and lectures to provide historical context. Discussion will be generated from a mix of primary and secondary source readings that expose students to diverse and often contradictory perspectives on historical events and actors. Despite being an introductory course, HIS 160 will encourage students to think of Latin American history as contested ground where all topics are open to interpretation.
Hst 492 Section 1, Problems in History–World (Environmental History of the Pacific Ocean)
This class examines the environmental history of the world’s largest geographical feature – the Pacific Ocean — to explore how the ecology, politics, and culture of the maritime region have changed in the Anthropocene period, this current geological era of significant human impact on the Earth’s natural world and climate. We will investigate how the natural environment shaped the foundations of culture from New Zealand to Alaska, examine ecological legacies of early exploration and colonization, study transmarine economic developments (from industrial fishing to the opening of Panama Canal and container vessel transport), discuss the longterm aquatic legacies of various military conflicts (including World War Two, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War) and finally analyze the environmental costs of current Pacific maritime concerns, from Japanese nuclear waste disposal following the 2011 Fukushima disaster to China’s construction of new deep ocean islands in fragile reef zones of the South China Sea.
NHM 311 Section 3, Nutrition
This course is an introduction to the field of nutrition and the application of nutrition principles to practical situations in health and disease. Topics include discernment of nutrition misinformation, diet planning, alternative diets, health effects of carbohydrates and fats, nutrient metabolism, weight management, disordered eating, vitamins and mineral supplements, phytochemicals, food insecurity, and nutrition in pregnancy and for physical activity. Development and management of chronic diseases such as atherosclerosis and hypertension will also be discussed. This course differs from the regular sections of NHM 311 in that the discussions are student-driven and the majority of each class will be centered around topics the students have chosen to cover from each chapter. Each student will research a nutrition-related topic and present their findings to the class. Examinations will involve identification and short essay questions in addition to multiple choice questions.
Mus 104 Section 2, Introduction to World Music Cultures
A survey introducing the musical cultures (traditional/folk, nonwestern art/classical, and popular music genres) of Africa, African America, Latin America, Native America, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and East Asia. This course is designed to broaden our musical and academic perspectives through the exploration of music in terms of its cultural, social, and historical dimensions—all concerns of ethnomusicology. The course has four objectives: 1) to broaden our understanding of the scope of human musical creativity throughout the world; 2) to develop listening skills and vocabulary that will enable us to talk and write about the world’s diverse music cultures; 3) to study music in culture as the relationship between ideas, sound, and behavior; 4) to understand the social, cultural, and historical basis of music production and consumption.
Phil 101 Section 13, Introduction to Philosophy
Philosophy 101 Honors introduces students to a number of core philosophical problems about the nature of knowledge and our place in the universe. The guiding questions of this course are: What is philosophy and why is it valuable? What can we know about the world and ourselves? What makes something a person? Must a person be the right kind of animal, have the right kind of mind, have an immaterial soul, or something else? What is the mind and how exactly is it related to the body and brain? What can the physical sciences tell us about the mind? Do we have freewill? When are we responsible for what we do? Do our choices, actions, and lives have any meaning? The overarching goal of the course is for students to develop the ability to critically analyze philosophical arguments and to hone their reasoning skills. This honors section will give special attention to the ongoing relevance of philosophy for science and society today.
Pol 398 Section 1, Special Topics in Political Science (The Constitutional Convention of 1787)
Join Professors John Winkle and David Case as all of us re-create the Philadelphia Convention, its issues, principles, and personalities. We will examine in depth the day-by-day interactions and transactions in that summer of 1787. Our goal is to understand better not only the beauty of the constitutional design but, importantly, the ambiguities and jarring contours of an imperfect decision-making process in creating it. We will rely almost exclusively on primary documents, such as the notes of James Madison and correspondence from delegates to family and friends. Here is the especially unique, and we think cool, dimension of the course: each student will play the role of a prominent delegate throughout the semester.
PPL 385 Section 1, Food Policy and Agriculture Systems
Why is it that everyday US schools battle with both childhood obesity and childhood hunger? How have government policies shaped the growing, distribution and processing of food in this country and how does that affect our health, wealth and local communities? This course will delve into these and other questions surrounding issues of hunger, the health implications of farming, and community and nonprofit activism. From the global to the national to the local level, food policy will be examined along with the important social problems stemming from our policies and potential solutions developed to deal with these problems. Among the objectives of this course, students will solve practical problems related to food insecurity and agriculture policy and argue for a reformation within the industrialized agriculture system. The instructor is Jody Holland.
PSY 201 Sections 15 and 17, General Psychology
This course is an overview of the broad field of Psychology and is designed to introduce the student to the scientific study of behavior and the cognitive and physiological processes that underlie behavior. Topics include the historical development of psychology, research methodology, brain/behavior relationships, perception, variations in consciousness, learning and memory, cognition and intelligence, emotion, personality, and social behavior. Psychological disorders and their treatment will also be discussed. This course differs from the regular sections of PSY 201 in the written and oral assignments that are built into the course. Students are required to give a 10-15 minute presentation in class on a topic assigned by the instructor. The topic for the upcoming semester will be a commonly held “myth” related to psychology that has little or no scientific support. Due to the small class size, examinations involve identification and short essay questions in addition to multiple-choice questions.
Soc 335 Section 1, The Sociology of Food
An examination of the socio-cultural, economic, and political aspects of food production, distribution, and consumption. Topics include group identities and food choices, the role of food in family activities, food in media, food fads, food as a manufactured product, and food as a global issue. The instructor is Elise Lake.
Span 111 Section 11, Elementary Spanish
Spanish 111 Elementary Spanish is an introduction to the language and culture of the Spanish-speaking world. Spanish 111 is designed for students to learn the skills to communicate effectively in Spanish and to develop a knowledge and appreciation for Hispanic cultures. By the end of this class, students should be able to complete basic communicative tasks in Spanish using newly-acquired communication strategies, grammar and vocabulary, and to be able to understand and speak about the diversity of the Spanish-speaking world. Students in this Spanish 111 Honors section will be exposed to authentic material (news articles, literature, movie clips, etc.) and will engage the reading and writing strategies they have learned in regular college classes when producing speech and writing in Spanish. Because the Honors College and Croft also offer a Spanish 211 section, we will prepare all students to excel in that class. Spanish 111 contributes to the Honors College curriculum not only in fulfilling language requirements but also in emphasizing critical thinking and writing by engaging original source materials, and by contributing to an interdisciplinary approach to learning.
Span 211 Section 5, Intensive Intermediate Spanish
Spanish 211 is a continuation of Spanish 111, Elementary Spanish, and is therefore, designed to continue the study of the language and culture in the Spanish-speaking world. By the end of this class, students should be able to complete intermediate-level communicative tasks in Spanish using the communication strategies, grammar structures and vocabulary acquired during the semester, and to understand and be able to talk about the diversity of the Spanish-speaking world. Students in the Honors section will have the opportunity to work with authentic material (news articles, literature, etc.) and will engage reading and writing strategies they have learned in regular classes in the production of class work and homework in Spanish. Because this Honors section will also include Croft students, who will necessarily continue to Spanish 303 and 305, we will spend more time in preparing all the students for excellence in those courses. Spanish 211 contributes to the Honors College curriculum not only by fulfilling the language requirement but also by emphasizing critical thinking and writing by using original source material, and by contributing to an interdisciplinary approach to learning.